The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to electrical connectors having an electromagnetic (“EM”) shield.
Some known electrical connectors, include a shield disposed within a housing. A portion of the shield may protrude from one cud of the housing. For example, a rim extending entirely around a periphery of one end of the shield may partially protrude from the housing. A pair of openings in the shield that are surrounded by the rim may be provided for a signal contact and a ground contact. For example, the signal contact (nay be inserted through, one of the openings and may pass through the shield and the housing to a mating end of the connector. A second opening may receive a ground contact that is electrically connected to an electrical ground. The ground contact may then connect the shield to the electrical ground.
The shield may be secured in the housing by bending, or flaring, the rim away from the pair of openings and towards the housing. The rim is bent towards the housing and engages the housing to prevent separation of the shield from the housing. For example, the housing and shield may each have shapes with substantially cylindrical inner chambers between opposing ends. The shield may be inserted into one end of the housing with the rim protruding from an opposing end of the housing. The rim may be flared towards the housing at this opposing end to prevent the shield from being pulled through the housing.
The rim, however, also can present problems in the manufacture and tooling processes involved in manufacturing the shield. In one example, the rim may prevent flash or waste material from being removed from the shield. For example, if the shield is fabricated through a die casting process, the conductive material used to create the shield may be heated so the material is liquid or molten and then pressure injected into a mold. A pin or bit may be inserted into the liquid material in the mold to create the opening for the ground contact. As the liquid material cools and solidifies, the pin is removed froth the mold and the conductive material. As the pin is removed, the pin may pull waste material such as flash and partially solidified conductive material from the opening for the ground contact onto the shield and within the rim. This waste material may then solidify as metallic silvers. Alternatively, the waste silvers may be created by drilling or punching the opening for the ground contact after the shield has been formed. The rim prevents all of these slivers from being removed from the shield because the rim entirely encircles the end of the shield. These waste slivers may dislodge from the shield or rim and contact electronic equipment that is near the connector assembly,. For example, the waste slivers may dislodge from the shield and contact another electrical connector, a conductive trace, and the like, on the circuit board to which the connector is mounted. The slivers may cause electric shorts or cause other damage to the electronic equipment. Thus, a need exists for an electrical connector with a shield that does not retain flash or other waste generated during the manufacture of the shield.